In re Alberto

283 B.R. 370, 2000 Bankr. LEXIS 1974, 2000 WL 33918842
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. New York
DecidedOctober 20, 2000
DocketNo. 98-14005
StatusPublished

This text of 283 B.R. 370 (In re Alberto) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Alberto, 283 B.R. 370, 2000 Bankr. LEXIS 1974, 2000 WL 33918842 (N.Y. 2000).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM-DECISION AND ORDER

ROBERT E. LITTLEFIELD, Jr., Bankruptcy Judge.

There are two matters before the court: creditor’s motion to preclude and debtor’s motion for damages pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 362(h). This is a core proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 157(b)(2)(A) and 1334(b).

BACKGROUND

The facts of this case taken verbatim from the parties’ stipulation of facts dated

November 2,1998, are as follows:

1)On June 17,1995, M & T financed the debtor’s purchase of a certain 1990 Plymouth Voyager automobile (the “vehicle”).
2) M & T obtained and perfected a lien against the vehicle.
3) As of June 8, 1998, the Debtor was in default of his obligation to M & T and the balance owed to M & T was $8765.99 with arrears of $4995.80.
4) On June 8, 1998, M & T repossessed the vehicle.
5) The debtor filed a petition for relief pursuant to § 1301, et seq., of the United States Bankruptcy Code on June 10, 1998.
6) The debtor listed M & T as a creditor in his schedules.
7) On June 11, 1998, M & T sent, and prior to June 25, 1998 the debtor presumptively received, notice that the vehicle would be sold unless redeemed.
8) On June 14, 1998, the Clerk’s Office of the United States Bankruptcy Court caused the Notice of Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Case Meeting of Creditors & Deadlines to be served upon all creditors listed in the debtor’s petition, including M&T.
9) M & T’s notice was mailed to P.O. Box 767, Buffalo, New York 14240.
10) M & T received notice of the bankruptcy filing on June 18,1998.
11) On June 25, 1998, the vehicle was sold at auction for the sum of $1500.00 pursuant to a direction by M & T.
12) Neither the debtor nor debtor’s counsel contacted M & T at any time prior to June 25,1998.

Previously, in an oral decision, rendered on February 11, 1999, this court determined that:

1) The vehicle in question was property of the estate;
2) By selling the car post-petition, M & T exercised control over property of the estate as prohibited by 11 U.S.C. § 362(a)(3); '
[372]*3723) The deliberate selling of the vehicle justified an award of actual damages;
4) The actual damages, if any, would be determined via a future evidentiary hearing; and
5) Punitive damages were not appropriate.

The damages hearing was conducted on July 19, 1999. Pursuant to the testimony offered and exhibits received from that hearing, the court additionally finds that the debtor purchased a 1995 Oldsmobile to replace the wrongfully sold 1990 Voyager. The purchase price for said vehicle was $5,420, financed at 11%, resulting in a monthly payment of $177 per month. This corresponds to a loan term of 36 months.

Post-trial briefs were submitted by the parties and the matter was fully before the court on December 1,1999.

I. MOTION TO PRECLUDE

The scheduling order issued in this matter on February 11, 1999 required all discovery to be completed by May 10, 1999 and all motions to be made returnable on or before June 17,1999.

According to M & T’s counsel, discovery requests were served on the debtor’s counsel on May 11, 1999. Apparently, debtor’s counsel did not comply to the extent M & T’s counsel desired.1 Notwithstanding the scheduling order’s prohibition of motion practice after June 17th, M & T’s counsel filed a motion on July 7, 1999 and made it returnable July 19, 1999, requesting a preclusion order.

This court appreciates the frustration of creditor’s counsel, however, if the debtor and/or his counsel were evading or ignoring legitimate discovery, the proper response would have been a timely motion to compel or preclude. However, it is difficult to countenance discovery that begins one day after the court’s deadline. Litigants that fail to heed scheduling order deadlines do so at their own risk. In the present case, discovery requests were untimely as was the motion to preclude. As such, the motion to preclude is denied.

II. DAMAGES

11 U.S.C. § 362(h) provides:

An individual injured by any willful violation of a stay provided by this section shall recover actual damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees, and, in appropriate circumstances, may recover punitive damages.

As to damages, whether under §§ 105, 362(h), or 524(a)(2), the standard is basically the same. Once a party has proven that he has been damaged, he needs to show the amount of damages with reasonable certainty. Matthews v. United States, 184 B.R. 594, 600 (Bankr.S.D.Ala.1995) (citations omitted). However, courts have recognized that damages from mental anguish can be difficult to prove. Matter of Flynn, 169 B.R. 1007 (Bankr.S.D.Ga.1994), rev’d on other grounds, 185 B.R. 89 (S.D.Ga.1995).

While some courts have refused to award damages under section 362(h) because the debtor faded to introduce any medical evidence, other courts have imposed a less stringent standard when it is clear that the debtor suffered some appreciable emotional harm as a result of the [373]*373stay violation. Flynn, at 1021-22. See also In re Fisher, 144 B.R. 237 (Bankr.D.R.I.1992); In re Wagner, 74 B.R. 898 (Bankr.E.D.Pa.1987); In re Davis, 201 B.R. 835 (Bankr.S.D.Ala.1996). This court agrees with the rational of the above cases and finds that emotional distress damages can be awarded against creditors for violation of the automatic stay. In addition, this court concurs with District Judge Na-gle, in affirming the Bankruptcy Court, that in the appropriate case, this may be done without the necessity of medical testimony. In re Flynn, supra, 93. See also In re Ghostlaw, Case No. 96-15146 (Bankr.N.D.N.Y. August 14, 1998).

In his post-trial brief, debtor’s counsel argues for damages based on:

1) Actual economic loss;
2) Inconvenience and emotional distress; and
3) Attorney’s fees.

A) Actual Economic Loss

Debtor’s counsel argues, “[that the amount of] actual damages for the economic loss suffered by the debtor with regard to his purchase of an inferior car is clear.” (Debtor’s post-trial brief p.

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Related

In Re Valenti
105 F.3d 55 (Second Circuit, 1997)
Flynn v. Internal Revenue Service (In Re Flynn)
169 B.R. 1007 (S.D. Georgia, 1994)
Wagner v. Ivory (In Re Wagner)
74 B.R. 898 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 1987)
Matthews v. United States (In Re Matthews)
184 B.R. 594 (S.D. Alabama, 1995)
Davis v. United States (In Re Davis)
201 B.R. 835 (S.D. Alabama, 1996)
United States v. Flynn (In Re Flynn)
185 B.R. 89 (S.D. Georgia, 1995)
In Re Carrigan
109 B.R. 167 (W.D. North Carolina, 1989)

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Bluebook (online)
283 B.R. 370, 2000 Bankr. LEXIS 1974, 2000 WL 33918842, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-alberto-nynb-2000.